Pacific Islanders
Oceania's indigenous inhabitants
Pacific Islanders are people from the islands of Oceania—Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia.
The term groups diverse peoples from Hawaii, Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Guam, and hundreds of other islands across the Pacific Ocean.
In demographic contexts, Pacific Islander often appears alongside Asian: Asian and Pacific Islander communities, API heritage month.
Native Hawaiians are sometimes distinguished separately.
Indigenous peoples of Oceania
- MelanesiansNative Pacific islanders
- MicronesiansNatives of scattered Pacific atolls
- SamoansPeople of a Polynesian nation
- TongansPacific island nation's inhabitants
Hawaiians · Fijians · Maori · Tahitians · Guamanians · Papuans · Kiribati
Sedative Pacific Island drink
- tattooingInjecting pigment under skin
- hulaGestural Polynesian dance
- mythologyBody of traditional tales
- storytellingRecounting events aloud
chants · dance · feasting · mana · taboo · animism · lei · ukulele
Underwater rock or coral formation
- lagoonSheltered coastal shallows
- atollRing-shaped reef island
- coralMarine skeletal formation
- fishingCatching aquatic creatures
marine · outrigger canoe · seafaring · tides · currents · coconut · breadfruit · taro
Navigating through physical spaces
- voyagingTraveling long distances
- outriggerBoat-balancing lateral float
- celestial navigationLocation-finding via astronomical observation
- dead reckoningPosition-tracking via estimated motion
canoe · double-hulled · wave patterns · currents · ocean swells · landfall · horizon · migration routes
Study of family descent
- lineageDescent from progenitors
- kinshipState of being related
- clanRelated group sharing ancestry
- bloodlineAncestry through generations
family tree · descent · matrilineal · patrilineal · chiefs · elders · ancestor veneration · tribal identity
Polynesians
Indigenous peoples of Oceania
- MelanesiansNative Pacific islanders
- MicronesiansNatives of scattered Pacific atolls
- SamoansPeople of a Polynesian nation
Tongans · Hawaiians · Fijians · Maori · Tahitians · Guamanians · Papuans · Kiribati
kava
Sedative Pacific Island drink
- tattooingInjecting pigment under skin
- hulaGestural Polynesian dance
- mythologyBody of traditional tales
storytelling · chants · dance · feasting · mana · taboo · animism · lei · ukulele · firewalking
reef
Underwater rock or coral formation
fishing · marine · outrigger canoe · seafaring · tides · currents · coconut · breadfruit · taro · seabirds
wayfinding
Navigating through physical spaces
- voyagingTraveling long distances
- outriggerBoat-balancing lateral float
- celestial navigationLocation-finding via astronomical observation
dead reckoning · canoe · double-hulled · wave patterns · currents · ocean swells · landfall · horizon · migration routes
genealogy
Study of family descent
bloodline · family tree · descent · matrilineal · patrilineal · chiefs · elders · ancestor veneration · tribal identity · hereditary titles
- IslandersHawaiians, Hawaiian, Fijians, Jamaican, Samoans
- peoplesAmericans, British, Chinese, French, Germans
- Asian diasporaVietnamese Americans, Japanese Americans, Filipino Americans, Korean community, ethnic enclaves
- Australian ethnicitiesAnglo-Australians
- ethnic groupsJews, Arabs, Chinese, Irish, Greeks
- Hawaii demographicsNative Hawaiians, population density, population growth, ethnic diversity, median age
Pacific IslandersEuropeans
People from that continent
Africans · mainlanders · Asians · Native Americans · Scandinavians
island, Pacific, islander, Pacific Islands, Pacific Islander